16 January Departure day

At midday after a frantic morning giving Jackster her final deck scrub and topping off the water tank we slip lines and leave bound on a mammoth 2 mile passage to the anchorage at Le Gosier, a resort town. Our plan is to stay here for two or three days until we feel Polly has fully recovered. Here we have the availability of a dinghy dock, taxis and a nearby veterinary clinic. It's somewhere new for us too, anchored in 6m sand behind a small island and a small reef to protect us from swell.

le Gosier anchorage

15 January Last day alongside and ship's cat needs to go to the vet

 At 1am this morning Polly woke me. We always lock her inside at night, bring in her litter tray and food bowls.

I woke hearing her scratching in her tray and then being sick. It didn't sound right so I got up and she was obviously in distress, straining to pooh and when she couldn't retching until it was only dribbles of bile. One of us stayed up with her all night waiting for daylight to be able to take her to a vet.

Through Google we found a highly rated surgery two miles away between Point a Pitre and the airport but how to get there? A taxi or a rental car. Very luckily there was a small car available from the rental company in the marina and they were very helpful to process the paperwork quickly to enable to make our 9.15 appointment.

Just like our dentist experience we were impressed with the modernity of the facilities. Dr Fourest examined a now adrenaline fuelled banshee. Polly has had a vet phobia ever since she lost her back toes in an accident 3 years ago. A tranquilliser shot enabled the vet to begin a full round of tests; blood tests, an ultrasound and an xray were done and while the tests were analysed she was put on a saline drip.

We were to come back at 4pm when they would have the results and the drip would have finished.

What was the cause of straining to pooh? Constipation. No shit Sherlock! Literally, no shit. She had impacted faeces which were removed by a soapy water enema and a gloved finger up her bottom. The bill was the same as the cost for staying in a marina for one month! But we love her and she had a full health check which revealed her kidneys are ageing, but all other organs are good and a picture of her genetic bone deformity at the base of her tail.

She was very grateful to be home on the boat and very clingy too. A visit to the vet is a trauma for her. For us we still have the last day cleaning jobs to complete because, although we asked nicely, the marina wouldn't allow us to stay for one more night in case we need to go back to the vet.

We had booked at Quai Ouest for a final sushi platter but couldn't leave Polly.  Instead the meal came to us as a take out.

12 January Scrub the decks!

Boat jobs today have been the order of the day. Our teak table in the cockpit was dirty so David gave it a light sand and I brushed on the teak oil. Once again a thing of beauty.

While the teak oil was soaking in I took down the forward sunshade to scrub and jet wash clean. While we were stationary in Grenada this summer rain and algae off the trees combined with sun to cause mould and discolouring. A good scrub with soap and bleach restored the whiteness.

Meanwhile on the aft deck David was rebedding the hatch over our bed. Over the many years the sealant has lost its nature we had noticed some dampness on the underside after heavy rain. For this purpose David bought a large roll of terabutyl tape from Amazon which is wonderful stuff. Hopefully, strike that, this is David standard, it will fix it.

More cleaning for me. In the afternoon I switch on the salon air conditioning, select a podcast about the Shipping Forecast, don my Marigold washing up gloves and attack the galley with my full range of cleaning products and scrubbing brushes. Afterwards I stand back to admire the glow of the woodwork, the shine on the tiles. It will last less than a day so grab the glow while you can.

Definitely going out for dinner tonight because a) I'm too tired to cook and b) I'm not going to sully the galley!

6 January local bus trip

Earlier this week we hopped a local bus to the shopping centre near the airport. Handily about 3 miles away and with some super friendly passengers. We were on a mission to swap our depleted Sodastream cartridges for new ones and there is one electrical store, Darty, that stocks them. Of course we couldn't leave with only two cartridges, we added new hair clippers to the cart to replace ours that have just died.

Late afternoon yesterday I was walking Polly on the dock, she knows the word walkies and loves us to accompany her on her travels, a bit like a trailing security blanket, and when we came back to the boat David was missing. Following the sound of his dulcet Lancastrian tones I discovered him having drinks on the neighbouring boat. Not one to miss out I grabbed a beverage, stepped over the guard rails and joined them. 'Them' are Patrice and Danielle on French Ty-Maumo.

Marina life is very social. It's a village of arrivals and departures, hellos and goodbyes.

1 January 2025

The world's still here. There are boat jobs to be done. A whole year of new adventures lie ahead us beginning with sunset drinks on Spirit of Jack Iron, a Polish flagged boat captained by Swiss Beot and his crew member Corinne.

We're halfway through our one month stay in the marina – time to start the boat jobs....

New Years' Eve 2024

Another years' end and a new one about to begin. For many a time of reflection, for us time for afternoon coffee with our Swedish neighbours Nina and Tomas on Mirabelle. Nina and Tomas arrived a week ago from their transatlantic crossing and from the first hello we were friends. That's the cruising life. We might not see them again, but we'll remember them and Nina's amazing cinnamon buns.

Being oldens we opted to celebrate New Year at 8pm Guadeloupe time, UK midnight. It's much more convivial than trying to stay awake to watch fireworks (and there weren't any to see last year). This year we were awoken by the bangs and Polly diving behind the laundry basket. We got up and saw sparkly lights over the skyline and then went back to bed.

Happy New Year 2025.

Christmas day in Point a Pitre

It's quiet, very quiet in the marina and chilled on Jackster. There are no presents to open, we have presents all year, or traditions to follow, but Santa has left a couple of folding bikes on the deck for us. We say this every year since we bought them in 2009! Like every child with a new bike on Christmas Day you have to go out on them.

We cycled a couple of miles to the centre of Point a Pitre. David was keen to see the cruise ship terminal which he visited on a ship in his previous life. With no ship on the dock it was underwhelming, set in the less salubrious dock area with derelict buildings all around. However, as it is Christmas Day the streets were empty. Hardly a car to dodge.

From what we saw we weren't impressed with the largest town on the island; lots of 60's and 70's blocks of flats in need of painting, rubbish on the narrow streets, just a feeling of a rundown impoverished town. A big contrast to affluent and upscale buildings on the rest of the islands and postcard pretty Saintes.

opposite the cruise terminal

After seeing the big town we went back towards the marina and then onto a sandy peninsula opposite where Jackster is moored for a complete contrast. The hotels and beaches were buzzing. There might be new wreck to see too.

downtown anchorage

On Christmas Eve afternoon we saw a massive plume of black smoke on the other side of the peninsula. At one point the fuel tank exploded. Interestingly the first rescue vessel we saw, a tug boat with water cannon, turned up 30 minutes later closely followed by a coast guard launch. After we had been to see the bow of the burned sail boat poking out of the water we learned that the marina's dock master had arrived immediately the alarm was raised to take off the captain and his dog so no lives lost.

Christmas Eve seafood extravaganza

Instead of eating at a busy restaurant this evening I prepared a minimal cook seafood extravaganza. We began with smoked salmon, then foie gras with champagne, a prawn cocktail with lettuce to satisfy the need for fresh vegetable and finally a few scallops in butter and garlic. An eclectic mix of our favourite dishes and delicious. I was so full.  David less so.

24 December Whoops!

Not a good morning when your mast falls over. Luckily this performance catamaran was alongside in the marina when its mast toppled to starboard. They had had a crew member working aloft in a bosun chair just before it went over. He may have gone with it.

If the mast had gone to port it would have landed on the Capitainerie's building, but going the other way it landed on the aft shrouds of a large (strong) monohull. It could have caused so much more damage.

He was lucky to be in the berth closest to terra firma because a travelling crane could be parked within lifting distance. Also fortunate that this happened before businesses closed at midday for the holiday.

Within a couple of hours the mast had been lifted back into the upright position and reattached. The only support we saw was a forestay and back, no spreaders and no side shrouds. We suspect something broke at the base.

23 December Dentist

When we were in Grenada I visited the dentist for my regular check up. The lady dentist told me I needed a couple of fillings replacing, that I ground my teeth and needed a dental guard and gave me the most painful and brusque cleaning I have ever experienced. I decided not to go back for the treatment, but to wait until we were back in Point a Pitre. A couple of years ago David had excellent treatment at the dentist next to the marina. The surgery is as modern and clean.

So this morning I popped into the office to ask for an appointment. Within 15 minutes of arriving I had had an xray and was sitting in the chair. The lady dentist gave me a shot to numb the gum. While I waited for the shot to take effect David booked an appointment for next week to have his teeth cleaned.

Back into the surgery the filling done with no discomfort and I am walking out feeling very happy with the treatment I'd received. It was faster, and cheaper, than seeing an NHS dentist in the UK. Win, win.

It so good we celebrated this evening with a sushi platter for two and a bottle of chilled rose at Quai Ouest restaurant.